As tipped by ChannelNews, Paramount, the owner of Network Ten, has moved to axe staff locally, with questions now being asked as to whether legal staff and the CEO should be the first to go.
Yesterday, Lisa Wilkinson was victorious in her bid to have Network Ten pay her million dollar costs of defending Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case.
Her victory came after a judge deemed it was reasonable for her to engage a separate legal team to her employer, whose lawyers for Network Ten and the CEO approved the controversial Logie speech Wilkinson made.
During the hearing, it came to light that Network Ten’s legal team, and CEO Beverley McGarvey had approved the speech. Ms. McGarvey even texted Ms. Wilkinson afterwards saying, “beautiful speech.”
This ruling could result in substantial costs for Network Ten, as well as any redundancy payments and potential defamation-related expenses.
In November 2022, five months after her Logies speech, Ms. Wilkinson was removed as host of ‘The Project,’ but remained employed at Network Ten.
“I was shocked, embarrassed and deeply disappointed by Ms McGarvey’s decision to remove me from ‘The Project.'”
In an email sent to staff locally this morning, Pam Kaufman, the President and CEO of International Markets, Global Consumer Products, and Experiences at Paramount said, “As Bob shared earlier this week, in order to drive earnings growth in 2024, we have had to make some tough but necessary decisions to ensure we continue growing our revenue while streamlining operations and reducing costs.”
“Unfortunately, this includes parting ways with some of our respected colleagues across the Australian business, who will be notified by close of business today.”
“I would like to take a moment to thank all those who will be impacted. Your important contributions to our organisation have strengthened our business, and we are grateful for your dedication. These decisions are never easy. I know the changes will be felt across the region, and I encourage you to support one another as we navigate this next phase of our evolution.”
“While this is a difficult moment, I want to emphasise that I believe in our global strategy, and I am confident that the Paramount Australia team will continue to drive the business forward to meet our goals across this critical and priority market.”
A spokesperson for the company has revealed to media that “Paramount is focused on driving earnings growth in 2024. As we continue to deliver our strategy in Australia – which is a critical and priority market for Paramount – we have had to make some tough but necessary decisions to ensure we continue to grow our revenue while streamlining operations and reducing costs.”
“As Bob Bakish said in his memo, some employees will leave the business, and to those colleagues we would like to express our sincere thanks for their hard work, dedication and professionalism. We will be supporting all colleagues impacted during this period.”
